Chapter 465: Emergency Evacuation
The dark prison had not a trace of light. Even the surveillance Den Den Mushi couldn't capture any images.
A certain man silently squeezed out through the prison cell's gaps.
Though the bars were extremely narrow, this man could pass through them easily.
His body was compressed and deformed by the bars. His entire person looked as soft as putty. More conveniently, his body's surface secreted a layer of slippery liquid, allowing him to leave the cell with ease.
After leaving his own cell, he continued forward, then once again passed through the bars into the opposite prison, the cell holding Vice Admiral Momousagi.
The man silently approached, then crouched down. He again secreted the slippery liquid, spilling it onto Vice Admiral Momousagi's wrists and ankles.
In the darkness, Momousagi took a deep breath before nodding heavily.
The man grabbed the handcuffs and shackles on Momousagi's wrists and ankles and began pulling forcefully.
Even with lubrication, Momousagi's body couldn't deform like the man's. The not-very-sharp shackles compressed Momousagi's hands and feet.
Under Momousagi's deliberate control, her thumbs began dislocating. The bones in her heels shattered.
Finally, as Momousagi broke out in cold sweat, the shackles on her hands and feet came free. But the collar around her neck couldn't be removed.
She couldn't exactly flatten her head too.
But that didn't matter. If the collar's chain couldn't be removed, she'd just take the chain with her.
Momousagi stood up with some difficulty. Her right palm turned pitch black. Though her body had shrunk, she could still use Haki. Even weakened countless times, it was still enough.
She walked to the wall tile where the chain around her neck connected.
She took a deep breath.
The wall was made of steel. Extremely sturdy.
But quite coincidentally, the woman codenamed Momousagi was a world-renowned great swordswoman.
Even though her body had become incredibly weak, a true swordsman, even with feeble strength, could easily cut through steel.
No Sword Style...
Momousagi silently chanted in her heart.
While she acted, the man who'd freed her had already reached the cell door. His fingers, soft enough to deform at will, thrust into the cell door's keyhole.
Click. A soft sound. The lock opened.
Then he began heading to other cells, continuously opening locks, continuously removing shackles from his comrades.
Then Momousagi, who'd already left her own cell holding her chain, would follow into those opened cells, then with a hand chop tear through the wall, letting her comrades gain complete freedom.
Soon, silently, a group of people had gathered in the dark prison corridor. They moved forward soundlessly, walking to the outside of two other cells.
In these two cells, the two child-form Admirals raised their heads, looking through the darkness at the crowd outside.
Aokiji's lips curved slightly.
Akainu's face also showed a smile.
Sorry, two seniors. We can't take you with us.
Momousagi apologized silently in her heart.
They'd all been shrunk. Once they alerted Teacher Zephyr, there'd absolutely be no chance of escape.
They could only slip away quietly.
Using months as the time unit, they'd finally dug a tunnel leading outside the prison. They could indeed escape now, but the two seniors couldn't.
This prison was in the deep sea, but the two seniors weren't Fish-Men.
After giving the two seniors a final slight nod, Vice Admiral Momousagi led her companions into the tunnel.
Though in darkness, they remained orderly throughout. They actually didn't make any sound.
The prison remained as quiet as before.
Then, not too long after.
Wooo...
A sharp alarm suddenly sounded, completely tearing apart the quiet night.
The prison lights finally turned on, illuminating everything clearly. The surveillance Den Den Mushi scanned everywhere, transmitting the situation.
"The security is really tight."
Aokiji finally spoke. "I thought we could stall for a few more minutes."
Akainu fell silent briefly, then said, "From here on, it depends on their luck."
NEO Navy's base was indeed located in the deep sea, but not completely deep sea.
A giant bubble covered this area.
Before leaving the bubble, Fish-Men's advantages couldn't be fully utilized.
Not to mention the Fish-Man Island Logistics Company teams permanently stationed here.
Though the logistics company's sea beasts were used for transport, they were similarly equipped with powerful weapons.
The shrunken Navy warriors, facing them, probably had no chance of victory.
They could only rely on luck to escape.
When the Den Den Mushi woke Brett, it was still deep night. He'd been sleeping soundly in his temporary residence in the Sea Forest.
Bleary-eyed, he picked up the Den Den Mushi and connected.
Upon hearing the first sentence from the Den Den Mushi, Brett's drowsiness completely vanished.
"Momousagi escaped."
The man on the phone said this.
Brett jolted instantly awake. "Then the situation's quite bad. We should prepare to evacuate."
Momousagi's escape meant NEO Navy's location was exposed.
Assigning blame now was meaningless.
NEO Navy had fallen into enormous crisis.
"I'll come right away."
Brett had already started getting dressed. "I'll dispatch several more logistics teams. Zephyr-sensei, you should also start mobilizing warships and prepare for evacuation."
"We need to move NEO Navy headquarters off that island as quickly as possible."
"...I'm sorry, Brett."
Zephyr on the phone was very dejected. "I was too careless."
"Saying such things is meaningless now, Zephyr-sensei."
Brett had already left through the door, flying directly upward. "The most important thing now is to minimize losses. If you feel guilty, save it for after we're safe."
"I understand."
Zephyr on the phone said solemnly. "I'll wait for you here."
"Mm."
Brett hung up.
The situation was truly troublesome now.
Momousagi's escape meant NEO Navy headquarters' location was exposed. Even little sister Uta's ability might be revealed.
This was terrible.
Brett silently increased his speed.
He was making phone calls, calling the logistics squads nearest to NEO Navy's base.
Moving an entire base wasn't an easy matter.
After contacting several logistics squads, Brett had already left the sea and flown into the sky.
He didn't put away the Den Den Mushi.
"Should I call for support from other friends?"
Brett muttered to himself.
The New World's sky was gradually brightening. The sun rose from the ocean's other side. Dawn had arrived.
Over a certain sea area, the surface suddenly bloomed with a small splash. A small figure burst out from the sea.
She slowly exhaled. "Finally shook off the sea beast pursuers. I wonder how the others are doing."
"Speaking of which, where am I now..."
She turned her head.
Then.
Joy blossomed in her eyes.
She saw in the distance on the sea surface, there was a ship.